Most Frightening
by weirdgirl42
Summary: Chloe goes to see Rush after the events of "Faith." Takes place in the same universe as my previous story "To Be There."
1. Chapter 1

_Disclaimer: I don't own SGU._

_Author's Note: This takes place in the same universe as "To Be There." While you don't have to read that first, you may want to._

**Most Frightening**

"I brought you some dinner."

Rush looked up from his carving at the plate Chloe was holding out. His expression was hard. He put the knight he was working on down and took the proffered food. He began eating, not looking up from the plate even when she took a seat across from him.

Chloe wasn't shocked by his coldness. If he had been the one to want to stay on the planet while she remained on the ship, she would probably be behaving the same way he was now. Their relationship was fragile, born out of a shared trauma. She knew she had been the one to cause this tension; she would have to accept the consequences.

They sat in silence while Rush slowly ate. When he finished, he pushed the plate aside and picked up his carving again. Chloe watched the way he scraped the blade across the wood. She could see the same concentration in his face that he had while working in the control room. She could see the same tenderness that he'd had that day in the showers when he'd dried her face.

"I knew you'd say no," she said after a long time had passed.

Rush's hands stalled in their work and he looked up at her.

Chloe took the face that he made eye contact as a small victory, though he had yet to speak. "When Matt came up here to talk to Colonel Young, I wanted to come too. I wanted to ask you to stay with us. But I knew you'd say no. Even with the chance to meet the aliens who built the planet. I knew you'd stay with Destiny."

As she spoke, Rush placed the half-finished knight and knife down. His eyes studied her face. She felt her cheeks grow hot, as they always did under his gaze. From the moment she had returned to the ship, her thoughts had been on him. When he hadn't appeared for dinner, her chest had tightened. The decision to go find him was easy. She thought the food might be a decent peace offering, but it was clear he was not inclined to forgive her right away.

"The truth is…" she continued, "the truth is I missed you. Eli thinks I felt safer on the planet and that's why I wanted to stay. But he's wrong. The reason I wanted to stay had nothing to do with safety. I knew we weren't safe down there. Not really."

She paused here. She knew it was wrong to betray a friend's confidence. She knew Rush was probably the second to last person TJ would want to know. But at that moment, Chloe realized she might have been confused about her real loyalties over the last month. So she took a breath and continued speaking.

"TJ's pregnant. That's why I wanted to stay. But the truth is I was relieved when she decided to come back. It meant I could come back too."

Rush still said nothing. She could almost see his mind processing the information. A part of her wanted to swear him to secrecy, but a larger part knew it wasn't necessary. Rush may not want Young in control, but he respected TJ.

Chloe ran a hand through her hair. "I knew you'd stay with Destiny. So I never asked. But I want you to know that everyday I was down there, I wished you were too. Because you're the only person who makes me feel safe. Makes me feel like myself. Feel whole. And that scares me a lot. But what scares me more is that I've ruined this."

She stood, lifting the dirty dishes off the table. "I understand if you need time, but I hope we can be friends again." Turning around she began walking towards the door. She was nearly out of the room when his voice stopped her.

"I might have said yes."

She froze, as though turning around to face him would break the truce he was apparently calling. "Said yes?"

"To going with you. I would have been tempted. Very tempted. So tempted that I might have said yes."

He paused long enough that Chloe thought he was done and reached out to open the door. But then his voice came again, only this time from right next to her.

"That is what is most frightening."

Chloe swung around and saw that he had come to stand just behind her. Close enough that she could reach out and touch him, though she didn't dare. Instead, it was he who reached out and gently touched her cheek.

"I'm glad you're back," he said. His hand reached down and slipped something into her palm. With that, he turned and went back to his chess set.

Chloe opened the door and walked out into the hallway, trying to will her heart to stop pounding so hard. Looking down at the small object he had placed in her hand she smiled. It was a crude wood carving but its image was instantly recognizable.

After dropping off the plate and fork she made her way to her quarters, the ones she had commandeered after things had ended with Matt. Once inside she laid down on her bed, holding the carved wood sun over her head. Letting its imagined rays warm her.

_tbc_

_Please review. They make my day._


	2. Chapter 2

_Disclaimer: I don't own SGU._

_Author's Note: I decided to make this a three part (at least). This chapter is mostly a filler chapter. Enjoy!_

**Chapter 2**

The days passed by quickly. Much more quickly than they had during the month they had orbited the planet. During that month, Rush had spent nearly all his time in the control room or in the lab. But the time had not flown like it had the first few months on Destiny. The work was just as interesting, just as challenging, but his attention hadn't been held as easily. He had found himself staring off, literally, into space on more than one occasion.

At first, he had blamed the lack of concentration on the fact that he was still healing. That had worked until he had recovered and still had found himself less engaged with the workings of the ship. He had known it wasn't the slow progress that bothered him. He had worked on a hundred projects that had moved much more slowly. He couldn't even blame the people around him because when Matt and Chloe had been on the planet, Eli had been much less annoying. Rush had acknowledged, somewhat guiltily, that the young man's demeanor had probably stemmed from loneliness.

He had missed her. As a scientist, he knew that once you eliminated possible factors, what you were left with was the answer. And it made sense. Because during those times when he would be staring out at the stars he would be thinking about their rescue. Thinking about the nights they spent in the mess hall after their abduction. The way she looked at him with such trust, like he could make everything better. No one had looked at him like that, no one except Gloria.

He liked the way he felt when she looked at him. He liked the way she had felt in his arms that day in the showers, how she held onto him so tightly. He knew, at least on some level, it was wrong. She was so young, half his age.

But when he focused too hard on the negatives he would hear Gloria's voice in his ear. Hear the words she often said when he'd ask his wife what she was doing with a man like him. She would just smile and say, 'the heart wants what it wants.'

Ever since that night Chloe had brought him dinner, they had begun to repair their fractured friendship. She, once again, spent time with him in the control room. He was slowly teaching her Ancient. The official reason, when Young had walked in on one of the lessons, was so that there would be another person who could help in an emergency.

The unofficial reason was that it allowed them to interact without getting too deep. Eli was often in the control room as well, helping to teach once in a while. Rush was not yet ready to deal with the depth of the emotion he felt for the young woman. Nor was he completely ready to forgive her for wanting to leave.

They had also taken to eating together. This was partly because Rush would often to forget to eat unless Chloe reminded him, and partly because they didn't really feel comfortable eating with anyone else. Rush was still considered a pain by the majority of the crew, even Wray knew better than to be seen with him too often. Chloe's relationship with the members of the military was strained at best and Rush knew she didn't feel comfortable around most of the civilians. They looked at her with pity.

Sometimes Eli would sit with them, but the scars from the coup still ran deep with the young man and he often chose to eat with Matt and TJ instead.

Rush found himself working even harder throughout the day so that he could spare the time to work with her. And even when she was just sitting on the other side of the control room studying the pages he'd written for her, or when she was joking around with Eli at the next consol, her presence kept him more even. Made him work the way he had before.

A week after Chloe had come back to the ship, they sat across from each other at a table in the mess. Rush had brought two or three sheets of paper on which he'd written some basic terms that were pertinent to the ship's functioning.

"That word is shield…and then something I can't read." Chloe looked up at him and grinned before taking a bite of mashed potato-like vegetable.

Rush shook his head, trying to avoid returning her smile. There were too many other people in the room. He took a sip of water and pointed at one of the words with his pencil. "The beginning of that words translates to work, and the second part…"

"Means good," Chloe finished, recognizing the word. "Actually, very good. Right?"

Rush nodded. "Therefore the sentence together would translate to…?" He took a bite of what appeared to be a green vegetable of sort.

Chloe stared at the words for another moment. Then her face lit up. "Shield functioning at maximum."

This time a small smile escaped Rush's lips. "More or less." He was about to show her how the words changed when the weapons were no longer functioning but was interrupted by someone clearing their throat next to their table. He looked up and saw Young standing somewhat awkwardly over them.

"Sorry to interrupt the…uh…lesson," the colonel said, clearly uncomfortable with the amount of time Rush and Chloe had been spending together.

"Not at all Colonel," replied Rush, looking up at the other man with the intense look he knew Young didn't know how to read. "What can we do for you?" He watched Young's eyes shift between the two occupants of the table. Chloe had gone back to staring at the paper, trying to translate the words written on them, and therefore did not notice Young's scrutiny.

"I was wondering how the numbers for weapons were looking," the colonel said at last.

"I went over them again this morning," Rush replied. "I may have found a way to write in a program that would activate if we were under attack and automatically draw extra power from the life support system in areas we can't access."

Young did his best to hide his pleasant surprise but Rush caught it before the colonel's face took on its stoic military form once again. "Good," was all he said before he walked back to his own table.

"You two seem to be better."

Rush looked over at Chloe who was now looking up at him. "We have come to a mutual agreement to bother each other as little as possible."

"Nick..."

Rush felt himself cringe at the fact that she was using his first name in earshot of all these people. But at the same time he relished the fact that she felt close enough to him to use it at all. "It is what it is Chloe. For now at least. We can't all be universally liked."

She snorted at the pointed look he gave her. Glancing over to where Matt, Greer, TJ, and Eli were eating and laughing. "I don't think that label applies to anyone on this ship," she said softly. "Least of all me."

Rush wanted to reach out and take her hand. He wanted it so badly that he had to stand up, clearing his plate off the table. "I need to return to the lab. You can work on these sheets tonight. We can work more tomorrow." He hurried to return his dishes. As he passed the table again on the way out he paused, "Have a pleasant evening Miss Armstrong," he said softly.

Then he was gone.

_tbc_

_please review_

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	3. Chapter 3

_Disclaimer: I still own nothing._

_Author's Note: So here comes the romance. You have been warned. _

**Chapter 3**

The next week was fairly grueling. Systems had been flickering on and off and pressure had gone up and down in several areas. Rush had been working almost non-stop. Chloe had been able to convince him to eat everyday but she knew he wasn't sleeping very much, if at all. Eventually they discovered that a crack in a maintenance tube had been causing the trouble and the problem was quickly repaired.

Now, Young and Wray were in the control room with Rush, going over how to prevent further leaks.

"Tomorrow I'll set up a team to check through the areas we have access to." Young ran a hand through his short hair.

"I'm sure some of the civilians would volunteer to help," Wray added. "Cover more ground that way."

Young nodded his approval and the two of them took their leave. Rush was left alone in the control room. He stared at the words and numbers on the screen in front of him, the lines were beginning to run together. He hadn't slept more than a couple of hours in the last few days and it was beginning to catch up with him.

"Is it safe to come in?"

Rush looked up and nearly sighed in relief when he saw Chloe standing in the doorway. "No crisis as of now," he replied by way of explanation. "With any luck we'll have a quieter few days. What can I do for you Miss Armstrong?"

Chloe grinned, her eyes twinkling with mischief. She brought her hand from behind her back and held out a bottle. Rush recognized it as the moonshine that had been circulating for months on the ship. "You've been working non-stop for a week. You need to take a break. I decided I would make you."

"Should I be afraid?" he asked. It didn't occur to him until after the words had left his mouth that they had a double meaning.

Despite the underlying tension, Chloe just laughed. "I just plan on getting you drunk enough to make sure you sleep for more than an hour." Reaching over she grasped the sleeve of his t-shirt. "Come on Nick."

It had been a long time since Rush had seen that much merriment in his young companion and her obvious happiness was enough for him to forget how tired he was. So instead of telling her that he would have no trouble staying asleep that night, he stood from his chair and let her lead him out of the control room. It wasn't until they were in the hallway that he realized she hadn't let go of his shirt.

"Where exactly are you dragging me?" he asked, trying to sound as gruff as possible.

"It's a surprise," was her reply.

"You're certainly in a jovial mood this evening."

She looked back at him. "I get hyper when I'm over tired." She turned into another hallway and stopped outside a door. When it opened, Rush's brow furrowed. He'd had no idea the room was there. It was the size of one of the living quarters but it had a large viewing window instead of a fourth wall. It looked like a much smaller version of the observation deck.

"How did you find this?" he asked, walking over to the window and staring out at the swirling colors of FTL.

Chloe came to stand next to him. "One of the nights I couldn't sleep. It was after your surgery and TJ was in with you. I didn't want to interrupt so I went exploring."

"Why didn't we find it during our initial exploration of the ship?"

Chloe shrugged. "Maybe someone did but then a crisis happened and they forgot." She tapped his shoulder with the bottle.

Rush took opened the cap and took a swig. The foul stuff burned like lighter fluid as it went down. Chloe took the bottle from him and took a drink herself, moving to sit cross-legged on the floor. When he made no move to copy her, she gave him a pointed look until he rolled his eyes and sat down a respectable distance away from her.

Chloe took another drink and then reached the bottle over to him. He took it and mirrored her actions. He was far from being a lightweight but sheer exhaustion was sending the alcohol straight to his head. And he could tell the same was quickly happening to her. For a while they just sat and stared out the window, every once in a while passing the bottle back and forth between them.

"Do you think we'll ever get back?" she asked.

Rush looked over at her, the movement making it clear how tipsy he was. He was taken slightly aback by the question. In truth, he couldn't remember anyone on the crew asking him that before, at least not without following it immediately with a bunch of technical ones. They would demand he find a way to get back, lament that they were trapped, ask if there was any hope. But they never asked him whether or not he thought they would actually succeed in returning home

"I don't know," he answered honestly. "Some days it feels like the answer will come at any time. Others I think we'll be out here forever."

Chloe was silent for another few moments, gathering up the courage to ask him the question she had always wanted to know. "Do you want to go back?" she said at last.

Rush knew the question was not asked in the same vein as it had been asked of him before. He knew that whatever answer he gave, she would not accuse him of sabotage. They were beyond that. "There are reasons I do," he said. Whether it was the stress of the last few days or the stress from trying to keep what he felt for her in a tiny box in the pit of his stomach, he found himself locking eyes with her. "But there are a lot of reasons I don't."

Chloe flushed slightly at the intensity of his eyes. She could feel the alcohol making its way through her system. But she held his gaze, forcing him to look away first. Which he covered for by taking another swig from the bottle.

More time passed, for all Rush knew it was hours. But it was most likely only minutes. Rush stretched his legs out in front on him, leaning back to prop himself up on his arms. They stared at the hypnotic colors in front of them and he was so engrossed that he didn't notice Chloe had moved until her head was resting just above his knee. His first instinct was to panic and move away from her. But that thought was quickly quelled by the desire to keep her as close as possible.

"I'm sorry," she said softly.

"Sorry for what?"

"That I left after your surgery. Eli told me you started working before you were really better. I'm sorry you were alone."

Rush didn't know what to say to this. "I got by alright," was all he could come up with.

"I know you did," Chloe replied. "But I'm still sorry."

"Apology accepted then." He wanted to reach out and run his hands through her hair. He had felt it once before, that day in the shower, and had longed to feel it again. He settled for placing a hand on her shoulder, a jolt of happiness running through him when she shivered at his touch. With the moonshine lowering his defenses he found his own apology tumbling out of his mouth before he even realized what was happening. "I'm sorry too."

She shifted under his hand and looked up at him, now lying on her back with her head still pillowing on his leg. "What for?"

"Your father," he answered sincerely.

He felt her stiffen and she turned back to her side, facing away from him. He thought he'd ruined everything but when she didn't move away he realized she was trying to hide her emotions from him, not reject what he was saying.

"I mean it," he said, placing his hand on her shoulder again. "Whatever you may have thought at the time, whatever you think now, I didn't want him to die. And if I could bring him back, if only for your sake, I would."

He both heard and felt the soft sob that escaped her. He stayed quiet until she had pulled herself together again. Eventually she turned onto her back again. Her eyes were slightly red but they were now dry.

"You know," she said, looking up but more through him than at him. "Sometimes I think it's better for us to stay out here. Part of the reason I wanted to stay on that planet was that I knew we'd be there until we died. I never thought the aliens would return and take us home. My father died out here. Going back, it wouldn't really be going home. So maybe we're better off out here."

"We're the far-farers," he said softly."

Now she looked at him, "The what?"

He smiled. "It's a poem. Robert Louis Stevenson."

"Tell me," she said.

"The broad sun , / The bright day: / White sails / On the blue bay: / The far-farers / Draw away."

His voice was soft and comforting. Chloe closed her eyes and let his words drift over her like the light from the outside.

"Light the fires / And close the door. / To the old homes, / To the loved shore, / The far-farers / Return no more." He finished and looked down at her. She opened her eyes and smiled up at him. "I wanted to be a sailor when I was a child," he explained. "I wanted to see the world."

"I guess the universe is a good substitute," she said.

"Yes," he replied. "Yes it is." The desire became to great and he reached out and brushed a strand of hair away from her forehead. When she closed her eyes and leaned into his touch he felt his breath catch in his throat. "Chloe?"

"Hmm?"

After waging a small war in his mind he decided that nothing worth having wasn't worth a little risk. At worst, he could always blame the alcohol. Leaning down, he gently brushed her lips with his. When he felt no response he moved to pull away, only to feel a hand on the back of his head keeping him in place.

Then she was kissing him back. And it was better than anything he could have imagined. Her hand moved from his head to his neck, and then to the side of his face. Eventually they pulled apart, both breathing heavily.

"Tell me what you want," Rush whispered, resting his forehead against hers.

Chloe reached up with both hands to cup his face. "I want you," was all she said.

Rush struggled to keep himself in check. "As much as I would like nothing more than to take you right here on this floor," he said, "neither of us have slept in a week. Add that to the fact that we are both slightly inebriated and factor in my age..."

Chloe dropped her hands and laughed. "So not tonight is what you're saying."

"More or less, yes."

Chloe laughed again and got, a little wobbly, to her feet. "I guess it's bedtime then," she said, holding her hand out to help him up.

Rush let out a breath and allowed her to help him to his feet. They walked out of the room and towards the civilian quarters in silence, arms brushing every few steps. They reached his room and stepped through the door. As he turned to say goodnight he realized she was following him inside. When he raised an eyebrow she faltered.

"I'm sorry," she stammered, "I just assumed..."

Rush stopped her leaving with a hand at her elbow. Then he shut the door and pulled her to him, gently kissing her eyes and then her lips. "Would you like to stay Miss Armstrong?"

"To sleep right?"

He nodded. "To sleep." They crawled into bed and lay side by side, close but not quite touching. Oddly, there was none of the usual awkwardness that occurred when sharing a bed with someone for the first time. Whether this was due to how tired they were, or whether it was a reflection of the ease of their relationship, neither had the strength to analyze.

Rush was nearly asleep when he felt her turn and drape an arm across his chest. "Tell me the poem again," she requested, her voice already heavy with sleep.

Rush smiled and gently stroked the arm that now rested across him. "The broad sun, / The bright day..."

_Tbc_

_I will probably do one more chapter showing how their changed relationship affects their lives on the ship._

_As always, please review, they keep me writing._


	4. Chapter 4

_Disclaimer: Still don't own anything. Surprise surprise._

_Author's Note: So I decided to incorporate what happened in "Human." So spoilers for that episode. Some details might not totally fit but, just go with it. _

**Chapter 4**

"Hey, are you ready to go?"

Chloe jumped slightly when she heard Eli walking into her room. She did a quick sweep of the place to make sure there was no overt evidence that Rush had slept there the night before. Finding nothing she turned to face her friend. "Yeah. All set. Just need to stop by the control room for a minute."

"What for?"

She held up a sheet of paper with Ancient written on it. "Need to give this to Dr. Rush."

Eli's brow furrowed. "You haven't heard?"

"Heard what?"

"Rush is in the chair."

Chloe swallowed the bile that shot into her throat. She knew she had to remain calm, even in front of Eli who at least knew she and Rush were friends. "The chair?"

"Yeah. Apparently they came up with some sort of interface system that makes it safer. Has a kind of fail safe he can access if he wants to get out."

Chloe began thinking over the previous day. How Rush had ushered her out of the control room when she had arrived for their daily Ancient lesson. She hadn't thought much of it, just figured he wanted a break from the ship's systems. But now it seemed like he hadn't wanted her to see what they were working on. And then last night in her bed, he had been almost frantic, as though it might be the last time they were together.

Maybe, she thought, it would be. She turned back to Eli. "Can I see him?"

Eli shrugged. "Yeah I guess. We have a few minutes before we have to get to the gate." He walked back out the door, waiting for Chloe to follow. Chloe turned back to her bedside table and picked up the sun Rush had carved for her, slipping it into her pocket.

They walked to the chair room in silence. Eli sensed that Chloe was nearly on the edge. He knew that she and Rush had been spending time together so he figured she was just concerned for the Dr.'s safety. The same way TJ and Young were. He didn't notice how her hands were clenched so tightly at her sides that her knuckles had totally drained of color. He didn't notice that her breathing was more shallow or that her eyes were almost wet.

When they got to the room, Chloe had to fight to keep it together. Rush sat in the chair, which was hooked up to a laptop. In a corner of the room, TJ was talking with Brody. They glanced up when Chloe and Eli walked in but soon went back to their conversation.

Chloe stepped over to the chair, it felt like she was walking through corn syrup. She could see Rush's eyes darting back and forth under closed lids. She wanted to trail her fingers over them, over his whole face, the way she had the night before. She wanted to brush the hair back from his forehead and feel his beard against her face. She wanted to rip him out of the chair and shout at him for being so stupid.

Instead she settled on placing her hand over his where it rested on the arm of the chair. Leaning down she spoke softly, letting her lips barely touch the outside of his ear. "You better be out of here by the time I get back."

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"We have a place to start Colonel. Which is better than what we had."

Young nodded, his jaw set. "Well what are the chances we'll know something in time to help our people back there?"

Rush looked up and shook his head. "I have no way of knowing that."

"Well you better figure it out," Young continued. "I need Scott and Greer. And you need Eli. Not to mention Chloe."

Rush felt the air drain from his lungs. This was the first time he had heard the list of people who had been left behind. He had assumed it had been Volker and some other military personal, maybe Greer or James. It hadn't occurred to him that he hadn't seen Eli since coming out of the chair. And he'd been happy not to see Chloe when he'd woken, assuming it meant she hadn't found out what he'd so recklessly done.

Young caught the look of panic that crossed the Dr.'s face. "That's right. You of all people know how much we need Eli."

If the situation had been any less terrifying, Rush would have laughed at how poorly Young had read the fear on his face. He was worried about Eli of course. But his panic was not about the young man. Steeling his expression he stood. "I can make no predictions at this time Colonel," he said. "But I promise I'll do everything I can."

With that, he walked past Young and out into the corridor. He moved without thinking, not looking up as he passed people. He arrived at Chloe's quarters before he had even processed the fact that he'd been heading there in the first place. He blindly grasped for the entry pad and activated the door. Stepping inside he quickly closed the door behind him to avoid any curious passersby.

The room was almost exactly as he had left it that morning. He had known when he'd awoken that today would be the day they'd attempt the chair interface. He'd known he would spend the foreseeable future trapped in the memories of his wife's death. So when he'd woken to the image of Chloe sleeping beside him, it had been all he could do to force himself to get out of bed. He'd kissed her face, careful not to wake her, and slid from the bed.

Now he sat down on the side she had occupied only hours before. He could feel the pressure building in his chest, could feel the tears pressing against his eyes. Though he knew it wasn't real, he had already gone through the pain of losing his wife today. He didn't know how to go through this pain as well. To lose the two people most important to him in a span of a few hours. It wasn't fair.

Wiping a hand across his face he brushed away the two errant tears that had escaped down his cheeks. Standing up he moved back towards the door when something caught his eye. A sheet of paper was laying on the table next to the bed. His hand was shaking as he picked it up and realized it was the sheet of Ancient phrases he had given her the day before.

He slowly ran his hand down the page. She had correctly translated all of lines. On the bottom he saw that she had added some words at the bottom. The writing was shaky, the Ancient letters not as cleanly drawn as when he did it, but easily understood. He half laughed, half sobbed when he read them.

_"I will bring you a rock from the planet."_

_TBC_

_Please review. I think there will be one more chapter in this particular story._


	5. Chapter 5

_Disclaimer: Have gained ownership of nothing since my last chapter._

_Author's Note: Thanks to those of you who stuck with this story. There may be more Rush/Chloe stories from me in the future._

**Chapter 5**

At least they were no longer underground. That was the thought Chloe clung to as they stared out over the massive lake on the planet they'd gated to about an hour ago. She looked up and motioned for Eli to sit next to her on the massive tree root. He complied. Together they sat waiting for Greer and Scott to get back from scouting the nearby area.

"A month ago I never would have thought I'd ever miss Destiny this much," Eli said.

"I know what you mean," Chloe replied. "But maybe it's too soon to give up hope. They could still figure out how to get back to us. Maybe something in the chair..." She trailed off, struck with the memory of seeing Rush strapped down, brow furrowed with the sheer volume of knowledge that was passing through his brain.

"I guess Colonel Young would make Rush come back for us if they could."

Chloe wanted to tell him that Rush would come back for them on his own if he could. She wanted to shake Eli until he understood that Rush was a good man. But instead she stayed silent, content in knowing that Rush would do everything he could to rescue them. Reaching into her pocket she ran her fingers over the wooden sun he had carved her.

"How's your head?" Eli asked after a few minutes of silence.

Chloe reached up and gently touched the gash that ran across her forehead. She had fallen and scraped her head on a rock while running away from the giant alien monster on the last planet they'd been on. She could almost laugh at how absurd that sounded.

"It's better," she replied.

"Pain meds doing the trick?"

"Well my head doesn't feel like it's about to split open anymore."

Any further conversation was interrupted by the sound of the gate wooshing to life. Chloe and Eli stood up, barely registering the fact that Greer and Scott and sprinted back to their position, guns aimed at the shimmering event horizon. For what seemed like hours, the only sound was the wind and the strange noises an activated gate always made. And then...

_"Lieutenant Scott do you read?"_

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Rush stood at the gate control panel. It was the fifth planet they'd tried. Each time he worried that it would be the last, that Destiny would override his override and put them back on course. He knew the algorithm he'd come up with was only a temporary fix, it allowed them to stay out of FTL as long as they were attached to a gate. At this point it was kind of like using a piece of twine to hold back a tiger. He hadn't slept for seventy-two hours and he couldn't remember the last thing he'd eaten that wasn't in liquid form.

He heard Young speak through the radio and then listened to the static, wishing he believed in god so he'd at least have something to pray to.

_"It's good to hear your voice Sir."_

A cheer went up throughout the gate room. Rush simply put his head down on the console. He could hear Young explaining to Scott that they had to send the shuttle because they couldn't disconnect the gate. Rush felt relief washing over him. He blamed sheer exhaustion for the fact that his eyes were beginning to well with tears.

"Good work Doctor," Young said, patting Rush on the shoulder.

With the finesse of a man well versed in hiding emotion, Rush bit back his tears and raised his head. "Thank you Colonel."

"Get some rest."

"Yes Sir," he murmured, the irony of the statement not lost on either man, Young patted his shoulder again and then walked past him towards the shuttle bay. Rush took a breath, his hands and shoulders were shaking from the adrenaline. They were safe. She was safe. She was coming back.

An hour later most of Destiny's inhabitants were milling around the shuttle bay, waiting for the return of their formally lost crew. Rush stood a little ways off, leaning against the bulkhead, willing time to move more quickly. He had not followed Young's suggestion of sleep. Instead, he had left the control room and come to stand outside the shuttle, off in the dark so that most of the other people who arrived later hadn't even noticed him.

After what seemed like an interminable amount of time, Young radioed that they were landing. The shuttle sealed with the ship and at long last the door slid open.

Greer and Scott walked through first, followed by Eli and then Chloe. Rush's eyes were immediately on her face, though hers did not find him through the crowd of people that were all vying for her attention. He watched as she hugged James and assured TJ that she was fine. Eventually, Young announced that everyone, especially the four recently marooned, deserved some rest and the crowd began to disperse.

When only a few people remained, Rush pushed away from the wall, bringing himself into the dim light of the hallway. "Where's my rock then?" he asked. unable to hide a small smile.

Chloe's head whirled around towards him and her face visibly relaxed. Walking towards him she reached into her pocket and pulled out the small stone she had picked up in the ruins. When she was a few feet away she tossed it to him. He caught the rock and turned it around in his hand, rubbing the smooth surface against his palm.

"It's a piece of the structure," she told him. "I had to fight monsters to get it to you."

The smile on his face immediately disappeared. He closed the distance between them and reached his hand out, almost touching the wound on her head.

"I'm fine," she assured him. "It looks worse than it is."

In the back of his mind, he was aware that Young, Wray, TJ, and Greer were standing nearby. Not to mention, Scott and Eli as well. Another part was arguing that it had been three days of torture, three days of knowing he might never see her again. The rational part of his brain was screaming for him to think about the consequences of openly acknowledging their relationship. But for one of the few times in his life, Rush found himself telling the rational part of his brain to shut up.

Leaning forward, Rush placed his hand on her cheek and kissed the gash. He could hear six simultaneous gasps but when he saw Chloe's eyes close and heard her stifled sob, he couldn't bring himself to care about anyone but her. He pulled her close and she went easily into his embrace, resting her cheek against the familiar softness of his shirt.

"Well," Young said from his place in the shuttle door, "that certainly explains his behavior the last few days."

Eli looked over at Matt. He'd had his suspicions about the nature of the relationship between his friend and his pseudo-mentor. But he knew Matt hadn't had a clue. The lieutenant's face was hard and he quickly turned and walked towards his quarters, Greer and TJ close behind.

"Should we be concerned?" Wray asked Young.

A wry grin spread across Young's face. "Dr. Rush just spent three days rewriting the laws of physics in order to save her. He figured out how to turn the ship around, if only temporarily. I'd say there are other things that warrant more concern, don't you?"

Wray nodded and the two of them went their separate ways.

"I thought I'd lost you," Rush admitted.

"I knew you'd come back for us," she whispered. Then she pulled away and held him at arm's length. "But don't think I've forgotten about the whole, using the chair thing."

Rush laughed, the sensation almost foreign after the last few days. "I'll have you know, using the chair saved your life."

Chloe reached up and brushed some imaginary dust from his shoulder. "You still should have told me."

"I apologize," he said, his voice no long joking. "It won't happen again."

Chloe tucked herself into his side and began leading them towards her quarters. "See that it doesn't. "

**The End** **(for now)**

_Thanks again for reading. Please, please, please review._


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